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PC Performance Analyses

Armored Core 6 PC Performance Analysis

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Bandai Namco has just released FromSoftware’s latest title, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. Powered by FromSoftware’s in-house engine, it’s time now to benchmark Armored Core 6 and examine its performance on PC.

For our Armored Core 6 PC Performance Analysis, we used an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 32GB of DDR5 at 6000Mhz, AMD’s Radeon RX580, RX Vega 64,  RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX, NVIDIA’s GTX980Ti, RTX 2080Ti, RTX 3080 and RTX 4090. We also used Windows 10 64-bit, the GeForce 537.13 and the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 23.8.1 drivers. Moreover, we’ve disabled the second CCD on our 7950X3D.

Armored Core 6 CPU scaling

FromSoftware has added a few graphics settings to tweak. PC gamers can adjust the quality of Textures, Anti-Aliasing, SSAO, Depth of Field, Shadows, Lighting and more. This is also the first FromSoftware game that supports 120fps on PC (as well as ultra-wide monitors). Not only that but the game has Ray Tracing effects that are available only in the garage. For those wondering, there is still no mod that can unlock them so that PC gamers can use in missions.

Armored Core 6 PC graphics settings-1Armored Core 6 PC graphics settings-2

Armored Core 6 does not feature any built-in benchmark tool. Thus, for our benchmarks, we used the final mission of the first chapter. At its beginning, this mission has a lot of numerous enemies on screen, so it should give us a pretty good idea of how the rest of the game runs.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon does not require a high-end CPU. In order to test the game, we simulated a dual-core system which was able to run it with a minimum of 75fps and an average of 87fps at 1080p/Max Settings. That’s with SMT/Hyper-Threading enabled. We also experienced some stutters that we were able to minimize by locking the framerate to 60fps (which reduced overall CPU usage). Without SMT/Hyper-Threading, the game is unplayable on that simulated PC system due to extreme stuttering issues. As for 120fps, you’ll at least need a modern-day quad-core CPU.

At 1080p/Max Settings, most of our GPUs were able to provide a smooth gaming experience. Surprisingly enough, our NVIDIA GTX980Ti was able to match the performance of the AMD Vega 64. The NVIDIA RTX3080 was also able to compete with the AMD Radeon RX 6900XT. Thus, we can safely say that this game favors NVIDIA’s GPUs.

Armored Core 6 PC performance benchmarks-1

At 1440p/Max Settings, our top five GPUs were able to provide framerates higher than 60fps. As for 4K/Maximum Settings, the AMD RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX and NVIDIA RTX4090 were able to run the game with constant 60fps. At 4K, the RTX3080 was slightly slower than the AMD RX 6900XT, however, owners of G-Sync monitors will be able to get a smooth gaming experience.

Armored Core 6 PC performance benchmarks-2

Graphics-wise, Armored Core 6 isn’t anything special. The game features really small/restrictive levels, and it does not provide anything memorable. Yes, there are a lot of particle effects and some huge enemies. You can also destroy a small amount of objects. However, most levels feel empty and uninspiring. For a FromSoftware game, we were definitely expecting more. It’s not a bad-looking game, but it’s also not one that will “wow” with its graphics or its art style. It’s somewhere in the middle.

All in all, while Armored Core 6 does not push the graphical boundaries of current-gen games, it runs smoothly on PC. For those wondering, we did not experience any shader compilation stutters, and the K&M controls are amazing. I’ve seen reports that the current-gen console versions can drop below 60fps. However, the PC performance of Armored Core 6 is exceptional.

Enjoy!

Armored Core 6 - Native 4K/120fps - Max Settings - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090